Rise of New Legends
by LonelyDreamer00
Summary: A person's decision can give birth to new legends and nurture the old ones to a new height. See how Jiraiya's choices will create legends in Konoha that will change the shinobi world.


**Rise of New Legends**

"**A person's decision can give birth to new legends and nurture the old ones to a new height. See how Jiraiya's choices will create legends in Konoha that will change the shinobi world."**

**Hello everyone, here is my new story that I have been working on for some time. In this story I will try to follow the canon as much as I can (so no gender bender, no bloodline for Naruto and I will try to maintain other important facts) The most I may change is the ages of few people (by 1 or 2 years) and give **_**one or two **_**characters different **_**primary **_**element. When I first came up with the idea I thought this is going to be a tough challenge, let's see how it goes.**

***Rating may change later depending on the story***

**So here we are, hope you enjoy this story.**

_**Disclaimer: Do not own Naruto.**_

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Jiraiya was looking at the quiet horizon in front of him. It had been almost four years since the Kyuubi incident. He lost a son-like figure and the person who he thought would be the 'chosen one' to lead this world to a peaceful era. When he heard the news of the Kyuubi attack he dropped everything and rushed to the village screaming in his mind that it was not true but seeing the state of the village he felt someone pierced his heart. When he talked with his sensei and learned everything he was beyond devastated. He just checked his godson's seal and then left. He was too broken to take care of himself let alone him.

"Why? Every time I deem someone worthy of being 'the chosen child' he dies. First it was Nagato and now Minato." Jiraiya sighed, "Time to go I guess." Jiraiya stood up. He was at Mount Myōboku to check on Gerotora about the 'key'. He talked to the Great Toad Sage as well and now it was time for him to leave. But stopped when he felt the two presence behind him.

"Where are you going, Jiraiya?" Fukasaku asked.

"Don't know, maybe north. I heard Orochimaru was seen there." Jiraiya replied back.

"Are you still not going to go see your godson?" Shima asked solemnly.

"I am pretty sure I am not in a position to babysit him." Jiraiya retorted.

"But you are his godfather, are you not? You have responsibility, we all know you are still grieving about Minato's death but the kid needs you. Won't you just go see him? He is all alone there, you know!" Shima fumed.

"But what about….." Jiraiya couldn't finish as Fukasaku slammed his head with his stick.

"Forget about the prophecy, will ya? I know you are scared but whatever happens will happen. You are not the type of person to fret on the past, Jiraiya. For now see the little tad and try to mend your wounds brat. Who knows, maybe spending time with your godson may give you what you truly need." Fukasaku grumbled.

Jiraiya looked at the toad couples. He was afraid to get close to his godson for the fear of losing someone precious to him again, but he never did let his fear control his life so why now? He looked at Konoha's direction.

The toads might be right, his godson needed him as much as he needed him.

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**xxXxx**

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Jiraiya was furious. After returning to Konoha he went straight to meet the Third who was shocked to see him but Jiraiya explained he needed a small break. He then learned that Naruto was in orphanage, he was a little angry as to why Hiruzen or no other clan took him but hearing the reason pissed him off more. It was those old fossils once again. But that was not the reason why he was _furious_. He went to the orphanage and the caretaker there told him that she kicked Naruto out few days back while she sounded satisfied. A four year old child! He didn't wait for to hear anything more. After sending the woman flying _through _few walls, he went to check for his godson. And when he found him, his heart broke. His godson, Minato's legacy, was eating from garbage. He was not able to hold himself as he rushed towards Naruto but when he tried to hug him, the kid got scared. Despite that Jiraiya hugged Naruto and broke down, repeatedly saying 'Sorry'. Jiraiya could feel Naruto was uncomfortable at first but when he started crying the kid stopped moving too much and was patting his chest with his tiny hand. Jiraiya felt someone stabbed his heart with a kunai. Naruto calmed down when Jiraiya told him that he was taking him to Hokage's place and after that they were going to eat as much as his little stomach could. From Jiraiya's attitude and gesture, Naruto could see that the person was genuinely kind and caring. So he nodded, Jiraiya went directly to the Hokage's office cradling Naruto all the way, only to see the advisors and Danzo was there as well.

"Jiraiya, what were you thinking? You put the caretaker of the orphanage in the hospital and injured several other civilians. Do you know what that means?" Koharu asked angrily, while finding Naruto Jiraiya talked with few guys here and there to know where could he might be but their responses didn't please him, so those fools were first to witness the pure rage of the toad sage, although he hold back his hands spoke his mind on their own.

"The caretaker is alive?" Jiraiya was surprised, he poked Naruto's neck to make him fall asleep before entering the Hokage's office when he noticed that there was other chakra signature. He knew things would go haywire so he didn't want the kid to know any of this nor did he want to be separated from him.

"Jiraiya, this is no joking matter. There will be consequences." Homura demanded with stern voice.

Jiraiya walked towards Homura and towered over him, he was pissed and he was not in the mood for any of their bullshit.

"Under whose authority?" Jiraiya hissed in such a cold tone that even Hiruzen was taken aback. He held his sleeping godson tighter, "I found Naruto, kicked out from the orphanage, eating from garbage. Is this how Konoha people treat a four year old child?!" Jiraiya roared as he looked straight at Hiruzen.

"I didn't know." Hiruzen was shocked.

Danzo cursed himself, from time to time he would let his root anbu watch over the jinchuriki but the root would first tell Danzo what was happening with Naruto before informing Hiruzen. When he heard that the Jinchuriki was kicked out of the orphanage he told the root not to tell Hiruzen about this as he thought it was a perfect chance for him to get the jinchuriki, he was waiting for the right chance to show himself to the kid but he definitely didn't expect Jiraiya to show up now of all time.

"Doesn't matter, I will take care of him from now on." Jiraiya said coldly as he turned to leave.

"You can't. The jinchuriki….." Koharu didn't get to finish as she felt the killing intent radiating from the toad sage as if he was facing his most hated enemy.

"I am his legal guardian, because of my working nature I had to put him under our Hokage's wings which I guess backfired but now that I am back I have _full authority _to take care of _my_ godson. Also let me warn you that if I find any of you old fossil sticking your nose into these, there will _consequences_." Jiraiya didn't wait after he spat out what he had in his mind, he made one last eye contact with Hiruzen and after that he left.

As Jiraiya was walking away with our sleeping hero, he understood one thing. Naruto needed him more than he knew and not just Naruto, it seemed the Konoha needed him as well. He still didn't have any idea how his stay with Naruto would change the history of Konoha but one thing he was sure of, it would definitely be different.

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**xxXxx**

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**Three Years Later**

"Are you serious, Sarutobi-sensei?" Jiraiya asked with narrowed eyes.

"You have to understand Jiraiya, at this point there is nothing we can do. We tried everything, all the negotiations have failed; I knew you will be against it but believe me we tried everything." Hiruzen replied in a tired voice with eyes full of regret.

"We? Last time I checked there was suppose to be _one _Hokage; so who else we are talking about here." Jiraiya questioned in a slightly louder voice; anyone could see that the toad-sage was doing his best to remain calm to listen first but Hiruzen knew Jiraiya was at a breaking point. But this had to be done.

"The council and I have decided that it is best for the village and belief me if there was any other option I would have gladly chosen it but there isn't. Agree or not but for the safety of the village it has to be done." Regret and sadness overwhelmed the old man's heart when he said those words.

"Walk with me, sensei." Jiraiya told Hiruzen in a calm voice but he could feel the anger in there; seeing that Jiraiya left no room for any arguments he started following him.

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**xxXxx**

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Naruto was planning for his next prank in his home. Outside, night had just started to cover the village. "Stupid sensei, I will show you what happens when you mess with the one and only Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto chuckled a bit darkly, earlier that day one of the teachers in his school deliberately made him miss the exercise class; and those were his favorite. "I mean, come on what the hell am I suppose to do learning about geometry and environment. If he thinks that will stop me from getting better than he is wrong." Before he could go any further with his nagging to himself, there was a knock on the door. "Who might it be at this hour?" He went to his door and opened it to reveal two of his favorite people.

"Ero-jiji, Hokage-jiji." Naruto shouted and tackle-hugged Jiraiya.

Jiraiya chuckled loudly and returned the hug to his godson. He entered the room while holding Naruto and laughed softly when he saw what Naruto was up to, "So who you are going to prank this time?" Jiraiya asked gleefully. Hiruzen sighed knowing he would have to be ready for some unwanted paperwork. He tried to reason with Naruto to stop his pranking which started last year; although the pranks were not dangerous but only made for amusement, the paperwork that came along with it were of no joke.

"Come on brat, I bought some ramen. Let's enjoy them; I also want to hear how your days are going." Hearing that Naruto let go of Jiraiya and drag him to his small dining table. He sat down properly and was looking hungrily at Jiraiya who just chuckled at his ramen-obsessive nature, _"Just like your mother, huh."_ He sat down in one chair and took out a small scroll, opening it he made a single hand sign and 'poof'; the whole table was filled with at least ten bowls of steaming hot ramen which made Naruto drool enormously. _"This day couldn't get any better."_ With that, he started devouring his first bowl. Hiruzen sat on the opposite of Jiraiya and took one bowl. He didn't know why Jiraiya took him here but he would wait and see.

"So, how are things around since I left?" Jiraiya asked while he took a bowl as well.

Naruto looked at Jiraiya and finished what he had on his mouth and squinted his eyes to think of his accomplishments which in fact were not that much, only the pranks but he was not that stupid to tell all of those in front of the Hokage; but suddenly he remembered one particular event. He jumped and started screaming, "Hey guess what ero-jiji just last week I saved this girl from bullies. Three of them and I stopped them all. How awesome is that! Guess that makes me a hero, huh." Naruto finished gleefully.

"Wow! That was brave of you Naruto-kun. So who was the girl?" Hiruzen asked with a smile.

"Ahh, I don't remember much; I think she had weird kind of eyes and was wearing something white-ish kimono or something." Hearing that both of the adults knew who he had rescued, a Hyuuga.

"So what happened after that; did you two get to know each other _real well_?" Jiraiya grinned lecherously.

"Not like that pervert! I didn't even see her after that and I don't think she will remember any of those. What's the point? I saved the girl from the bullies, let's leave it at that." Naruto replied back sourly.

"Naruto; let me ask you something," Jiraiya asked in a soft voice which stopped Naruto on his track, "Do you want to _be_ a hero or _play _as a hero?"

Naruto didn't know what it meant but before he could voice his lack of understanding, Jiraiya continued, "If you want to be a hero then act like one, a girl was bullied and you stopped them doesn't mean you saved the girl unless you talk to her about this. She was bullied means she had problems and will probably have more; remember what I said, stopping one problem without knowing the reason doesn't mean you stopped all the problems. In this case, you just merely helped her and if you act like this it will seem as you did it on a whim. Remember what I told you before, always try to look underneath the underneath. Saving and Helping is two different thing, Naruto." Jiraiya casted a side glance at Hiruzen who didn't miss it.

"Sorry, guess I just helped her for nothing." Naruto mumbled out softly.

"Now that won't do! There is a girl in distress and you want to sit around moping the floor. That is not how the apprentice of the Great Toad Sage and Super pervert should act. Tomorrow you will find the girl and talk to her, solve her problems. Well at least talk to her about those and who knows she may become a true friend to you. _Maybe more." _Jiraiya encouraged Naruto in a wise tone but his perverted eyes didn't fool Hiruzen, _"I am pretty sure he will use Naruto and this new girl for his books, should I tell him." _But being a fan himself he knew the answer, _"Nah might as well wait and see what his next master piece will be_."

Hearing that Naruto smiled once again; the reason he didn't want to look for the girl was because she left without saying anything although he was still groggy from the beating so he was not sure what happened to the girl but the fact remained that she left without talking or anything. He was afraid that she would act just like the rest of the kids but after listening his grandfather-figure, he felt like trying one more time. He stopped trying to befriend kids around his age because all he got was harsh scowling from the parents and the untrusting and offended eyes from the kids. He might be wrong but after hearing out Jiraiya he felt that if he backed down it would be contradicting to his nindo. _"Guess it wouldn't be bad to try out my luck, huh."_ With that he started eating again as did everyone else but seeing his smile and enthusiastic mood the adults smiled as well.

"Ah I forgot to tell you something, Naruto." Jiraiya said when he finished his first bowl and by that time Naruto was on his way to his third helping.

"I am writing a new book and it is almost done but I cannot seem to get the perfect ending for it." Jiraiya asked while he took out a book and in the cover it was written 'manuscript'.

"Is this one of your pervy books again?" Naruto complained in a frustrated tone.

"Brat, let me tell that the books you think are nothing but porn are selling far and wide. If it was only bad and icky stuffs written there, do you really think so many people would buy it?" Jiraiya replied back in mock anger.

"I will believe ya when I see that for myself." Naruto just stuck out his tongue and went for the third bowl.

"Fine then brat but this book isn't like my normal ones; I am writing this one based on one of the characters from 'The Tale of Utterly Gutsy Shinobi'." The outcome was just as Jiraiya expected.

"What! Really; wow I thought you were not going to write anything similar to that one anymore. So what is this about? Based on Which character are you writing this?" Naruto started shooting questions after questions to which Jiraiya just chuckled and shook his head.

"Kid, I will tell you the story first and the name of the character later. After listening to the story, help me find a good conclusion, will ya? And you know the drills no shouts or questions before I finish telling, Ok?" Jiraiya asked in soft voice to which Naruto shook his head vigorously. Hiruzen just simply watched the interactions between Naruto and his godfather which also made him a bit sad to know that he never saw Naruto so cheerful and radiating so much happiness in front of anyone else, himself included, _"Will it also change when he will know about it, his burden."_

"Ok, so as I said I will not tell the warrior's name but this started where my last book ended. This young warrior went back to his land, after the war ended, where everything was peaceful but not for long. As you see in the war something happened and his clan was blamed for this although they didn't had strong evidence but slowly they started to ostracize the whole clan. The warrior and the leader did everything they could but the situation started to get worse. It went to a point where the clans where shunned and was looked down upon; seeing that they don't have any bright future ahead for their younger generation they wanted to take down the leader to replace with one of their own to save their clans' future but the leader got wind of their plan. The leader at first started to negotiate harder but when he saw that there was no other way he decided to wipe out the clan. The warrior seeing that he had to choose between his clan and his village, chose his village for peace because if the village start a civil war, other village might take advantage of that and it would create sparks for another war. This is where I am stuck Naruto, the warrior chose the village and the clan was destroyed, so what would happen to the warrior. I know it is a tragic story but the way I started writing I just couldn't see any happy ending to it and I am too far to re-write the whole story. So, any thoughts?" Jiraiya told the story to his godson; Hiruzen was getting paler by the second when he figured out what Jiraiya was talking about. At one point he wanted him to stop but one cold glare from Jiraiya stopped him from taking any actions.

"The story is nice but I think you can still change the outcome." Naruto replied back in sad tone.

"Really? I am open for suggestions you know." Jiraiya smiled a bit.

"Well I did not fully understand the war part but the way you said made me belief that the warrior is someone acknowledged and accomplished person in the whole village, right? I can relate to how the clan was feeling being shunned by it's own people over something that they had no hand in." Hearing that Hiruzen felt his heart was going to pop out, he looked at Jiraiya who didn't bother answering him, rather he was listening to Naruto intently.

"So why not make the warrior the leader? I mean that is what the main problem is, right? The clan wants the leader to be one of their own, so why go for all this tragic drama? Just make the warrior new leader as he loves his village over his own clan and is someone who seems would always look for a peaceful solution. And besides the leader in your story seems wuss." Naruto joked the last part but after finishing he looked at Jiraiya who was grinning from ear to ear.

"Yes, you are right. Why not make the warrior replace the leader; maybe not soon but after a while. It should calm down the tension and who knows, maybe the clan and the village will understand each other without any bloodshed." When he finished Jiraiya started laughing, while Hiruzen looked like he was struck by lightning.

"Atta boy, Naruto."

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**xxXxx**

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"I can't believe this." Hiruzen sighed and leaned into the chair.

After their dinner with Naruto, they came to Jiraiya's house which one might say was the _safest _and the most _private _place in all Konoha. Being a seal master both Minato and Jiraiya made their houses a stronghold and for that reason their house was not as luxurious or as big as other clans or VIP people. They chose safety over luxury but the seals that they applied to their house needed constant monitoring or a longtime dead lockdown which can only be opened by a seasoned seal master. Minato's house was completely sealed and to open it both Naruto and Jiraiya needed to work together. Jiraiya was doing a routine check-up to see if every seal was doing their job, while Hiruzen was resting in a chair.

"Sensei, there is no doubt that you were and still are one of the strongest shinobi alive, heck even now I don't think I can beat you in an all-out match. You also did a great job leading the village for so many years. But with all the recent events like what happened with Naruto and the Kumo incident and now this! I am out there, doing all I can to protect my village from outside forces but now seeing all these current occurrences I think Konoha's enemy is hidden within. Let me resolve this matter in my way, I promise you this if there will be bloodshed it will be only of those that are truly guilty." Jiraiya told Hiruzen in steel voice showing that he would fix this in one way or another.

"What do you want to do?" Hiruzen asked in a hopeful tone.

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**xxXxx**

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Fugaku was surprised and soon it turned to anxiety when an anbu came to his house late at night and asked for him and his wife to come with him to meet Sandaime. Him going alone was one thing but because Mikoto was called as well he had to tread carefully. They followed the Anbu but was surprised to see their meeting place, it was Jiraiya's place. This changed the whole thing. With one of the sanin present on the village their coup was sure to fail. He looked at Mikoto and saw that she also understood what he was thinking; they went inside the house hoping for a miracle.

"Ah, come in come in." Jiraiya greeted them with a warm smile.

"Thank you for inviting us to your place Jiraiya-sama but we thought we are suppose to meet the Hokage." Fugaku asked politely.

"Oh, the old man is waiting inside." Jiraiya replied while leading them to one of his study room. After they entered the room, they saw Sandaime and one more Anbu with a weasel mask. Jiraiya motioned them to sit and he made a handseal and the room glowed ever so lightly. Seeing the worrisome face of Fugaku and the questioning face of the others, he replied, "For privacy."

"By the way, why don't you lose the mask kid and get comfy. We are going to have a long night." Jiraiya told the anbu casually who flinched hearing that and looked at Sandaime for confirmation; the old man shook his head slightly. He didn't know what Jiraiya had planned but he would give his full support. The Anbu removed his mask to show his identity, Uchiha Itachi.

"I am not going to beat around the bush Fugaku, I know about the coup you are planning," Fugaku tensed hearing the toad sage but before he could say or do anything Jiraiya calmly motioned him to relax, "Your decision and my sensei's decision will cause a lot of innocent bloodshed and that is why I promise you this, after tonight you _will_ go home satisfied with the outcome and if anyone would die that will be the ones truly responsible for this mess. So I request, no I beg you to listen about what we are going to discuss neutrally." Jiraiya bowed his head towards Fugaku which surprised him to no end; he knew the coup was not going to work but he had no other choice and now with Jiraiya here the coup had no hope in succession. He looked at Mikoto who was looking at him with eyes full of hope, _"Maybe there is still hope."_ With that thought Fugaku smiled at the old hermit who in return smiled back.

"Now Itachi, please tell me how you would have carried out the _mission _and _why_." Jiraiya asked the young Uchiha with a calculated eyes who looked at Hiruzen once again for confirmation. Hiruzen shook his head positively and seeing that Itachi took a deep breath, it would be hard to discuss about that in front of his parents but he too wanted to bet on Jiraiya.

"Few days back I killed my best friend Shisui Uchiha and because of that I awakened my Mangekyo Sharingan. When I would have received the final order, after some preparation, I would have carried out my mission alone in a few days; The Uchiha Massacre, for the betterment of the village." Itachi replied back in a strained voice, no matter what it was hard to say those in front of his parents. While Mikoto started sobbing lightly after hearing that, Fugaku smiled sadly. Seeing the family in this state Hiruzen felt old and helpless because of his inability to stop the situation from going this far but all of them was stirred from their thoughts when they heard the steel cold voice of Jiraiya.

"Kid, do you know that when I come back one of the person that comes to see me is Ibiki? His specialty lies in interrogating but if he can extract information from someone in an hour I can do it in half the time out there without any proper equipment. So tell me again from the very beginning, the truth not what you think is right. You are too young to deceive my eyes, boy." Jiraiya stated his thoughts in a calculating voice.

Hearing that Itachi broke down, all this time neither his father nor Hiruzen were able to see through his mask. He didn't hold back, he told everything. He told him that how he was a double agent, feigning loyalty to the Uchiha while secretly passing on information about them to the Third Hokage and Konoha elders. His best friend and brother-figure, Shisui Uchiha, opposed the coup as well. When all the negotiations were failing, Itachi and Shisui came up with an idea and consulted with The Third that Shisui would use his Kotoamatsukami on Fugaku to subtly end the coup d'état plan. But when Shisui prepared to make his move, Danzo believed that simply manipulating the Uchiha's leader wouldn't end the conflict, chose to take Shisui's eyes for himself in the desire to protect the village in his own way and he was able to get his right eye but Shisui managed to escape before Danzo could take the other one. Later he met up with Itachi and told him everything while dying by his hand as a mean to "erase his existence". He also told Jiraiya how Danzo and the Konoha Council ordered Itachi to wipe out the Uchiha clan against Hiruzen's wishes while Danzo pressuring Itachi by persuading him into choosing the lives of his clansmen or that of his little brother. Itachi got up and kneeled down in front of Jiraiya.

"Please save my clan, Jiraiya-sama." He pleaded to the old sage while crying openly. Everyone was shocked after hearing Itachi's story but they were once again got out from their stupor by the old sage's voice.

"I had a vague idea of what was happening and now I know who the main puppeteer is, Itachi you will come with me to pluck out some _root_ who is destroying our village from within." Hearing that Hiruzen eyes widened as realization struck him.

"Jiraiya, you can't be serious? You want to _kill_ Danzo, do you know what would that cause? And for what reason? Are you…" Hiruzen stopped speaking when he saw Jiraiya looked at him in a cold narrowed eyes and was radiating intense killing aura.

"You want to know reason, Fine! Tell me this, seven years ago when Kyuubi appeared how did the culprit knew of the exact location, we both had a vague idea of that. You might have become lenient on few things sensei but I am not. I investigated in lots of things for the past three years inside Konoha and the Fire country and let me tell you in the darkest places and histories in our village there are hints of the involvement of that old fossil. Orochimaru, Kyuubi incident, the destruction of few villages in the fire country and now this. He stopped Itachi and his friend from taking a _peaceful _path and he even stole a Mangekyo Sharingan for god's sake. For protecting the village? Tell me what he did to protect our village because as far as I remember he did NOTHING! He still has his root going on and Itachi just confirmed it. If those are not signs of betrayal, then I don't know what is. We both made a mistake with Orochimaru, please not this time." Jiraiya softened up at the end. Hiruzen just looked at his student with tired but hopeful eyes.

"Do what you think is the best." Hiruzen replied with a strained voice.

"Thanks jiji; alright Fugaku I want you to go to your compound and alert all your clansmen and fortify the place. I don't want to take any risks; sensei, send some strong jonin there as well and I will take Kakashi and Itachi with me. And also Mikoto I will be handling you the responsibility of watching over my godson. Can you do it?" Hearing that Mikoto's eyes widened as realization struck her. She nodded with tearful eyes. Jiraiya continued, "Itachi, do you know where Danzo would be at right now?"

"I am suppose to meet with him to give him my answer." Itachi said with a determined voice.

"I am really thankful for all the help you are doing Jiraiya-sama but the Uchiha elders will not be satisfied with this." Fugaku interrupted them in a somber voice.

"Well tell those elders to shove their ego up their ass because that is not how the clan of the future Hokage should act like." Jiraiya replied back with a smirk. Hearing that all the Uchihas in the room almost fainted.

"What!" Surprisingly it was Itachi who shouted out.

"Is that the way a Hokage candidate should act like? I don't think so. Sensei and I decided that in a few years after getting appropriate training Itachi will take on the Hokage mantle. We can discuss about that later but first we have work to do." Jiraiya spoke while he undid the seals in the room.

"Danzo, get ready cause you are not seeing the dawn of tomorrow."

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**xxXxx**

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Danzo was waiting for Itachi while many of his root shinobis were hidden in the area, he was a person who never took any chances. If Itachi decided to go against the deal than he would be dealt with swiftly, also his eyes would be used properly. His thought process was interrupted when he heard a small explosion. It was right where few of his roots where located.

"So you decided to stand with your traitorous clan, Itachi." Danzo said in a calm voice, in a second he was surrounded by twenty of his root members but before they could even form a defensive circle them and Danzo and his roots had to jump away as the place exploded, some of the roots were not so lucky.

"The only traitor I see here is you Danzo." Hearing the voice Danzo started to sweat, he was not suppose to be here. But when the smoke cleared he knew if he didn't do something he would not get out of there alive. Standing in front of him was Jiraiya in his toad-sage mode with two toads in each of his shoulder. Danzo hit the floor with his crane, all the hidden root members came to his side. With his strongest root Hyo, he left the premise hoping that his root members would be able to hold Jiraiya off long enough for him to get to safety, outside of Konoha. He didn't know what tipped the toad sage off but whatever it is, he had to go to the bottom of it but for now staying inside of Konoha would be risky. He stopped when he saw Itachi in front of him.

"So instead of taking care of the main problem you are going around doing useless stuffs." Danzo spat out.

"You are the main problem here, Danzo." Itachi's eyes immediately changed to form the Mangekyo Sharingan. Danzo heard screeching sound and looking back he saw Kakashi was rushing towards him with his famous 'Raikiri'. He jumped to avoid it but to his surprise 'he' wasn't their target. Kakashi pierced Hyo's heart with his Raikiri.

"I put him on a genjutsu which was long enough for Kakashi-sempai to finish him." Itachi said in a cold voice. Danzo subtly started giving chakra to his right eye for him to use Kotoamatsukami but he stopped when he noticed that Kakashi was blocking both of his eyes while Itachi was looking directly at him as if he was mocking him.

"It is not going to work against a pure Uchiha with a Mangekyo Sharingan, Danzo." Itachi said in a scornful voice.

"Then I shall take both of you with me." Seeing that his doom was inevitable in a rage he torn opened his shirt to show an ominous looking seal around his chest, "Die you ungrateful traitors." But before he could activate the seal a bo staff pierced his chest rendering the seal useless. Danzo looked back to see Hiruzen in his battle gear but his eyes were closed.

"I am sorry my friend but I am not going to make the same mistake again." Hiruzen whispered in an apologetic tone but his demeanor was saying otherwise. Danzo looked in front to see Itachi walking towards him.

"I believe you have something that belongs to my friend."

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**xxXxx**

**.**

**.**

Jiraiya was standing patiently in front of the full shinobi council the day after. He and Hiruzen called for an emergency war-council and asked for all the shinobi clan heads to come. Jiraiya gave the shinobi clan heads a brief explanation of what had expired with the Uchiha, in his own version of course, leaving aside the Uchiha coup planning.

"So you are saying that behind the Kyuubi incident there was Danzo's hand?" Hiashi asked Jiraiya after his explanation ended.

"There is no hard evidence on that part but on other notes he still had his root program going on and also one of the main reason that there was a disturbance between Uchiha and the village." Jiraiya calmly replied.

"So this Shisui kid was killed by Danzo for his sharingan eyes and things started to go from bad to worse?" Tsume whistled.

"And he was doing all these right under our nose." Shikaku sighed while looking at the elders or rather would be former Konoha council.

All this time Homura and Koharu was quiet. When they heard what happened they confronted Hiruzen first before coming to the meeting, telling him that what he did was wrong and for him the village would suffer greatly. While they were fuming and throwing all these outbursts Hiruzen calmly presented them the evidence Jiraiya dug up after the raiding the root headquarters, he had to admit after what he had found there he was glad that he went for Jiraiya's decision. After seeing all the dirt on Danzo, both of the elders shut up. They also panicked when Hiruzen pointed out how most of the time they would side with Danzo and how they went behind his back with the Uchiha problem. They knew that their time in the Konoha council was drawing near. Even they had hard time believing that Danzo did all those heinous acts in the name of the village's prosperity.

"So, is there anything else in your mind, Jiraiya-sama?" Shikaku added.

"Yes there are few things in fact. First I would like to instate new council members for Konoha because I am pretty sure lots of shinobi and clan heads will start to doubt our old ones." Jiraiya said with a grin. Homura and Koharu was quiet as if they accepted their fate, all they were hoping now was a proper release.

"So who do you want to nominate, Jiraiya-sama." Shikaku asked although he had a hunch who might they be.

"Hiashi Hyuuga and Shikaku Nara as they are not only good clan heads but also seasoned jonins. Is there any objections?" Seeing that everyone was rather pleased with his decisions except one who just muttered 'troublesome' he continued, "One more thing I would like for everyone to think about is our next Hokage." Hearing that everyone gasped, there was nothing wrong with their current Hokage, so the question was why?

"I know what all of you are thinking. Let me explain, there is nothing wrong with Hiruzen-sensei as you can see he is still good and kicking. But I think it is better that we have a young Kage as being Hokage is taking it's toll on our current one." Jiraiya pointed out with a snicker earning a glare from Hiruzen and sweatdrop from everyone else.

"I propose Itachi Uchiha to be the fifth Hokage and I know he is still young, so that is why I will take him with me for training. And when he returns with me, all of you can judge then if he has the capability to be the Hokage. Anyone disagree?" This time as well there was no disagreement because everyone knew the accomplishments of the young Uchiha and truthfully saying everyone believed that he would be a fine Hokage with proper training and guidance.

"Guess that ends our discussion here."

**.**

**.**

**xxXxx**

**.**

**.**

"Is this necessary, Jiraiya-sama?" Fugaku asked.

"Yes, your brat has good instincts but only as an _anbu_ and that is why I think if he travels with me it will help him grow. Besides he needs to see the outside world in a different perspective rather than a shinobi's one." Jiraiya replied as he was looking around to see the room. It was his first time to come at the Uchiha head's private study room after all.

"So how long will the journey take?" Mikoto asked as she entered the room.

"Don't know for sure, but it might take time. Don't worry we will drop by once in a while." Jiraiya chuckled seeing the worrying mother.

"So, about Naruto…." Mikoto couldn't finish her sentence as she felt Jiraiya's firm stare.

"I know you figured it out but I want you to keep it a secret for now, also" Jiraiya softened up, "My _only_ condition for doing all these is for _you_, Mikoto, to take care of Naruto while I am gone." Hearing that both Mikoto and Fugaku gasped. Naruto was not up for adaption as he was a jinchuriki. Few people tried to adapt him but they were all shut down as other clans opposed because the adaption might create disturbance in the clan's status and power.

As if reading their mind, Jiraiya chuckled, "I am his legal guardian so don't worry about anything. All the formal papers will be here and the conditions as well. As you know most of the time I have to stay far and even though I try to come once in a while to see the kid, I don't think it is enough. He deserves more. So as you are entrusting me with your kid, I am entrusting you with mine." Jiraiya bowed.

"No it will be an honor Jiraiya-sama, after all you have done. And I will try my best to give little Naruto everything that he deserves. If it is ok with you, can he come today?" Fugaku was surprised hearing Mikoto's excited voice but before he could object she gave him a cold if-you-don't-agree-you-are-sleeping-in-the-couch smile. Fugaku was wise so he knew the best option, he smiled and nodded his head positively.

Jiraiya laughed at the small interaction.

"Well, you don't have to hurry. Just have a good night with your kid. Tomorrow, early morning, I will bring Naruto over with his stuffs and take Itachi." Jiraiya said as he stood up and head for the door.

"Thank you, Jiraiya-sama. For all that you have done." Fugaku bowed to the toad sage.

Jiraiya smiled and returned the gesture.

**.**

**.**

**xxXxx**

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**.**

**Next Morning (At Konoha Gate)**

"So, Jiraiya-sama. What now?" Itachi asked curiously.

"We shall embark on a new adventure to discover the unknown." Jiraiya replied back enthusiastically while pointing outside the gate.

"By any chance, are we going to a hot spring?" Itachi replied while his curiosity was slowly fading.

"Shut it brat."

.

.

.

**Done. Few things I want to mention before I wrap it up, there are three things that I will describe later,**

**First will be the three years of How Naruto and Jiraiya lived which I skipped, mostly I would say it in flashback or in Omake, secondly the more in-depth of what Danzo did and what Jiraiya found in root headquarters. Also what happened with the remaining roots, the final is, of course, Naruto meeting the Uchiha family for the first time which I skipped at the end and went directly to Itachi leaving. **

**Most of these would be explained in upcoming chapters.**

**Till next time everyone. **


End file.
